Saturday, October 5, 2013
Your Weekly Address: End This Government Shutdown Saturday October 6, 2013
In this week’s address, President Obama said that Republicans in the House of Representatives chose to shut down the government over a health care law they don’t like. He urged the Congress to pass a budget that funds our government, with no partisan strings attached. The President made clear he will work with anyone of either party on ways to grow this economy, create new jobs, and get our fiscal house in order for the long haul – but not under the shadow of these threats to our economy.
THE LIST: UNNECESSARILY SHUT DOWN BY OBAMA TO INFLICT PUBLIC PAIN
While our president still enjoys his essential employees and locations: the White House chefs, Camp David, and a military golf course, there doesn't seem to be any question that in mercenary pursuit of a political win, this White House is determined to unreasonably punish as many everyday people as possible. And this includes children sick with cancer. That might sound like hyperbole, but it is not.
Although Barack Obama's chefs have been deemed "essential," employees at the National Institutes of Health who offer last-chance experimental cancer treatments for children suffering from cancer have not. Worse still, House Republicans have offered to compromise with the president and single the NIH out for funding. The White House has threatened a veto.
Using children sick with cancer as pawns is community organizing on steroids. And the media are covering for him. When the media thought they could emotionally blackmail the GOP with these sick children, telling their story was all the rage. Now that it is Obama and Senate Democrats wrist-flicking refusing treatment for these children, suddenly the media aren't too interested in telling their story.
There are many other examples of this president's cold-hearted fanaticism and willingness to punish people for reasons that seem to have much more to with spite than what is and is not "essential." In fact, there are a number of examples where Obama seems to be spending more money and using more resources to close and block and inconvenience than to just leave it alone.
The media may or may not report on these individual occurrences, but what they will never do is provide the American people with the full context and scope of Obama's shrill pettiness.
Below is a list of illogical, unnecessary, and shockingly spiteful moves our government is making in the name of essential and non-essential.
This list will be regularly updated, and if you have something you feel should be added, please email me at jnolte@breitbart.com or tweet me @NolteNC.
SHUTDOWN SIMULACRUM by Mark Steyn
Just because it’s a phony crisis doesn’t mean it can’t be made even phonier.
Way back in January, when it emerged that Beyoncé had treated us to the first ever lip-synched national anthem at a presidential inauguration, I suggested in this space that this strange pseudo-performance embodied the decay of America’s political institutions from the real thing into mere simulacrum. But that applies to government “crises,” too — such as the Obamacare “rollout,” the debt “ceiling,” and the federal “shutdown,” to name only the three current railroad tracks to which the virtuous damsel of Big Government has been simultaneously tied by evil mustache-twirling Republicans.
This week’s “shutdown” of government, for example, suffers (at least for those of us curious to see it reduced to Somali levels) from the awkward fact that the overwhelming majority of the government is not shut down at all. Indeed, much of it cannot be shut down. Which is the real problem facing America. “Mandatory spending” (Social Security, Medicare, et al.) is authorized in perpetuity — or, at any rate, until total societal collapse. If you throw in the interest payments on the debt, that means two-thirds of the federal budget is beyond the control of Congress’s so-called federal budget process. That’s why you’re reading government “shutdown” stories about the PandaCam at the Washington Zoo and the First Lady’s ghost-Tweeters being furloughed.
Via: National Review Online
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Obama's Reckless Default Fear-Mongering
Never before has an American president threatened and risked the U.S. economy and financial markets the way Barack Obama has in recent days. For his own narrow political ends, Obama and his minions have actually accused the Republican party of deliberately provoking a Treasury debt default because they don't agree with the Obama position on the continuing budget resolution and the debt ceiling.
"As reckless as a government shutdown is ... an economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse," Obama said on Thursday. Clearly targeting Republicans, he said a default would be "the height of irresponsibility."
Shutdown!! Where is California Now???
For the first time in 17 years, the federal government has shut down. As CalWatchdog.com has previously explained, this doesn’t exactly mean that steel bars have dropped in front of all government buildings. Rather, some programs are temporarily shuttered and non-essential employees go home.
About half of all federal workers are deemed essential and will remain on the job. Also, Congress and President Obama have already agreed on a bill that would continue to pay American troops. If the House has its way, other parts of government like the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Park Service will reopen too. The House plan announced Tuesday would also enable the local government of Washington, D.C., to maintain basic services like garbage pickup.
But that doesn’t mean a shutdown still won’t affect California. The Golden State doesn’t rely as heavily on the federal government for employment as Maryland or Virginia, but the shutdown will still have some effect. After all, California employs 150,762 federal workers, more than any other state. (It remains unclear exactly how many of those employees are being furloughed.)
In addition to federal workers, California also supplies the federal government with plenty of politicians. So where do some of the key players in Washington — those that can actually make a difference dealing with the shutdown — stand?
Of course, they all say that they oppose a government shutdown. But the disagreements occur over how exactly to end the stalemate. House Republicans want Senate Democrats to take part in a conference committee to sort out a compromise that would end the stalemate. The House hopes that they can pass a continuing resolution (CR) that might include some changes to Obamacare, such as a repeal of the medical device tax or the removal of special exemptions for Congress. Democrats demand the immediate passage of a “clean CR,” or a bill that would fund the government without any strings attached. Since they’ve been unable to come to a compromise, the government remains unfunded.
All California Democrats have voted with their party on the shutdown-related votes in the past few days, as have Republicans voting with the GOP.
Public Sector Unions Must be Abolished
The recent battle over a Federal government shutdown adds more evidence to the argument that public sector unions must be abolished. Cities are reeling under unsustainable pensions paid to government workers who are not working. And those in state government jobs are receiving the largest pensions of all. They are destroying the economy. Their contracts are not approved by voters but by secret quid pro quo arrangements with the politicians they support.
Federal collective bargaining rights were granted by executive order, not by an act of Congress. In 1962 John F. Kennedy granted collective bargaining to federal workers through Executive Order 10988. The voters of America had no say in this cozy relationship. The result is that today fFederal workers earn up to twice as much as their private sector counterparts. But since they are unionized they have a power private sector workers don't have: to force other workers to support them through taxation.
The debt created by these union pensions may be unconstitutional: the Constitution says Congress may levy tariffs and fees in support government services. If employees are no longer working and providing services, then the tariffs and fees are not providing any services. Furthermore, the money going to pensions deprives the neediest Americans of much-needed entitlements. When excessive debt is created, the service on this debt takes more money out of the Federal government, reducing its ability to help the poor even further.
Public sector unions have always been closely associated with the Democratic Party. This continues to this day with the four largest public sector unions. The Center for Responsive Politics states that according to Federal Election Commission records, the SEIU, National Education Association, AFSCME, and American Federation of Teachers, all public sector unions, are in the group of the 12 biggest campaign contributors of the past 22 years.
Via: American Thinker
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Sequestration and Government Shutdown Obama’s Friday afternoon Walkabout Act
Did President Barack Obama’s surprise walk out of the White House Friday to get a sandwich and a spotlight in the ongoing government shutdown have anything to do with CFP’s contention that the 2013 White House is under siege?
In an out-of-the-blue Friday afternoon move, the president decided to take himself a stroll a block up Pennsylvania Avenue to a Taylor Gourmet deli where he bought himself a furlough-discount turkey sandwich. (AP, Oct. 4, 2013)
You can’t make these things up and neither can the AP.
The CFP story stated that the White House is under siege and has been so ever since the 2013 sequestration.
Via: Canada Free Press
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In an out-of-the-blue Friday afternoon move, the president decided to take himself a stroll a block up Pennsylvania Avenue to a Taylor Gourmet deli where he bought himself a furlough-discount turkey sandwich. (AP, Oct. 4, 2013)
You can’t make these things up and neither can the AP.
The CFP story stated that the White House is under siege and has been so ever since the 2013 sequestration.
“The White House is under siege, and has been so since the 2013 sequestration. America’s top tourist draw continues to be held under siege by a malcontent community organizer who claimed the presidency in 2008, and his chip-on-the-shoulder wife.“Under sequestration even school children cannot get into their White House. You can no longer get intothe White House unless you’re a Hollywood star, a favored world leader, a union boss or activist, unless allowed entry at the express invitation of a covetous Barack and Michelle Obama.
Via: Canada Free Press
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Bachmann: When Are Obamas, Sebelius, Roberts, and IRS Chief Signing Up For Obamacare?
(CNSNews.com) – When asked about the 10,535 pages of final regulations that have been published in the Federal Register for implementing Obamacare, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said Americans want to see those responsible for Obamacare to sign up for it, including President Barack Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Daniel Werfel, the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
“What I want to know is when are we going to see the photo -- President and Michelle Obama signing up for Obamacare?” Bachmann told CNSNews.com on Friday on Capitol Hill.
“When are we going to see the photo of [Chief Justice] John Roberts and Mrs. Roberts sign up for Obamacare?” said Bachman. “When are going to see Kathleen Sebelius and her husband signing up for Obamacare?”
Via: CNS NewsContinue Reading.....
Obama criticizes Cruz, other first-term GOPers for 'being controversial'
President Obama was once a high-profile first-term senator, but he doesn't think the current crop -- including Sens. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio -- is serving the country well as they seek out controversy.
"I recognize that in today's media age, being controversial, taking controversial positions, rallying the most extreme parts of your base, whether it's left or right, is a lot of times the fastest way to get attention and raise money," he said in an interview with the Associated Press released Saturday. "But it's not good for government."
When Obama got to the Senate, he said, "my attitude was I should just keep a pretty low profile in the Senate and just do the work." While the media did seek him out, "I didn't go around courting the media."
In a particular jab that seemed aimed at Cruz, who is seen as a driving force behind efforts to shutdown the government over Obamacare, the president added: "And I certainly didn't go around trying to shut down the government."
FEDS TRY TO CLOSE THE OCEAN BECAUSE OF SHUTDOWN
Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was "closed" due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles of open ocean. Fishing is also prohibited at Biscayne National Park during the shutdown.
The Park Service will also have rangers on duty to police the ban... of access to an ocean. The government will probably use more personnel and spend more resources to attempt to close the ocean, than it would in its normal course of business.
This is governing by temper-tantrum. It is on par with the government's ham-fisted attempts to close the DC WWII Memorial, an open-air public monument that is normally accessible 24 hours a day. By accessible I mean, you walk up to it. When you have finished reflecting, you then walk away from it.
At least that Memorial is an actual structure, with some kind of perimeter that can be fenced off. Florida Bay is the ocean. How, pray tell, do you "close" 1,100 square miles of ocean? Why would one even need to do so?
Apparently, according to an anonymous Park Service ranger, “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
Centuries ago, King Canute famously failed to command the ocean tide to stop. His display was actually a means to educate his subjects on the limits of royal power. Today, however, our President actually believes he has the power to control the oceans.
Democrats say House vote for back pay shows GOP wants government to stay closed
The Republican-led House passed a bill Saturday to give thousands of furloughed federal workers back pay when the government reopens, but Democrats promptly characterized it as a signal the GOP doesn’t want the partial shutdown to end.
“Now we're saying to federal employees: We're going to pay you when this is all over with,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said minutes after the 407-to-0 House vote. “But right now, you just stay home … watch TV, play chess, whatever you’re going to do, because we won't let you work.”
The Senate is expected to OK it as well but adjourned Saturday without a vote. The Democrat-controlled chamber will not scheduled a vote until at least Monday afternoon, when members return to Washington.
The back-and-forth comes on the fifth day of the partial government shutdown and marks the second straight weekend that members of Congress are on Capitol Hill trying to agree on a spending bill to end the saga.
At the same time, House Democrats extended Reid’s talking point while also adding that both sides have agreed to spending levels for a temporary funding bill to end the partial shutdown, so House Republicans should drop their effort to defund or delay ObamaCare and vote this weekend to fully re-open the government.
Scott Walker REFUSED to close parks despite order by feds…
Now I like this gutsy move by Scott Walker.
This is awesome:
Via: The Right ScoopWisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s administration defied the federal government by refusing to close popular state properties at the behest of the National Park Service.The park service ordered state officials to close the northern unit of the Kettle Moraine, Devil’s Lake, and Interstate state parks and the state-owned portion of the Horicon Marsh, but state authorities rebuffed the request because the lion’s share of the funding came from state, not federal coffers.Instead, the state’s Department of Natural Resources “issued a statement saying all state parks, trails and other recreational properties were open and not affected by the federal government’s budget problems.”Walker blamed both Republicans and Democrats for current fighting in Washington, perhaps leaving the door open for a run for the presidency as a centrist in 2016.
Continue Reading....
Shocking! CBS Hounds Pelosi Over Shutdown: 'You've Called Them Arsonists'
CBS This Morning has a long established history of conducting softball interviews of liberal/Democratic guests, while unleashing on conservative/liberal ones. But on Friday, the morning newscast surprisingly hounded Rep. Nancy Pelosi on the ongoing government shutdown. Obama supporter Gayle King repeatedly pressed Pelosi about "people [who] are just saying...work it out....both sides have to be willing to leave something on the table."
Anthony Mason underlined how "Senator [Harry] Reid called some Republicans anarchists. You've called them arsonists....How do you get a meeting of the minds when people are talking like that?" Norah O'Donnell also wondered about "a scenario...where Democrats would be willing to give on a larger budget deal – the grand bargain coming back, and giving on entitlements, so that we can move forward." [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]
Anthony Mason underlined how "Senator [Harry] Reid called some Republicans anarchists. You've called them arsonists....How do you get a meeting of the minds when people are talking like that?" Norah O'Donnell also wondered about "a scenario...where Democrats would be willing to give on a larger budget deal – the grand bargain coming back, and giving on entitlements, so that we can move forward." [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]
O'Donnell led with the Thursday security scare at the Capitol, and raised the subject of the shutdown by asking, "Is it true the Capitol Police are working without pay because of the budget shutdown?" Once the San Francisco liberal confirmed that this was the case, King began pursuing her about her role in the shutdown:
GAYLE KING: ...What do you say to people that say, just work it out, without going into the tit for tat that seems to be going on both sides? What will it take, Madame Speaker, to resolve this issue?
Via: NewsbustersContinue Reading....
Bachmann Denies Saying Shutdown ‘Exactly What We Wanted’: WaPo and Obama ‘Misquoted Me’
Friday afternoon, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) sat down with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to offer her response to comments made by President Obama earlier in the day about his willingness to negotiate with Republicans. The congresswoman also disputed comments she made about the government shutdown being “exactly” what the GOP “wanted.”
Bachmann rejected Obama’s proposal to end the government shutdown before negotiations over health care and other issues begin. “The president is saying fully fund the government, don’t negotiate on any of the programs,” she said, “on how much we’re spending, and then keep giving him all the money that he wants in order to keep spending, so then what is there left to talk about?” If the “president is saying ‘I’ll negotiate after you give me everything I want,’” Bachmann asked, “then what is there left to negotiate on?”
Blitzer pointed out that all the president is really asking for is that Congress end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. “Isn’t that your job?” he asked. After Bachmann clarified what her job is, Blitzer moved on to show a clip of Obama “ridiculing” a statement she had made earlier in the week that the shutdown is “exactly what we wanted.”
“A lot of times the media gets it wrong,” Bachmann responded. “Now the president of the United States is getting wrong quotes.” She backtracked on the quote from The Washington Post, saying, “What we wanted is the ability to be able to put on the floor what we agree on, because we were having problems getting to yes, getting to agreement on Obamacare.” She indicated that her comments referred to attempts to fund parts of the government that everyone could agree on and not the shutdown itself.
“That quote in The Washington Post you weren’t referring to–you didn’t want a government shutdown?” Blitzer asked.
“No, absolutely not. The quote was wrong and the president had misquoted me as well, probably taking it inadvertently from the The Washington Post that got it wrong.”
As it appeared in The Washington Post on Saturday, September 28th, before the shutdown went into effect, Bachmann’s quote did appear to refer to the inevitability of the government shutdown. The article, by Ed O’Keefe and Rosalind S. Helderman began:
While much of official Washington on Saturday somberly faced the likelihood of a government shutdown, the most conservative members of the House sported a different expression.They were smiling.“We’re very excited,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). “It’s exactly what we wanted, and we got it.”
Watch video below, via CNN:
Boehner: Shutdown ‘isn’t some damn game’
Republicans on Friday were furious over a Wall Street Journal report that the White House believes it is “winning” the shutdown fight.
“This isn’t some damn game
,” said House Speaker John A. Boehner. “The American people don’t want their government shut down and neither do I.”
,” said House Speaker John A. Boehner. “The American people don’t want their government shut down and neither do I.”
Publicly the White House, too, says the shutdown isn’t about winning. Press secretary Jay Carney said that on Thursday. But the Wall Street Journal reported that a senior administration official said: “We are winning…It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts “because what matters is the end result.”
Journal reported that a senior administration official said: “We are winning…It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts “because what matters is the end result.”
Republicans and Democrats are stalemated in how to reopen the government, with Republicans demanding a compromise that would include a delay or dent in Obamacare, and Democrats insisting the government be reopened without any preconditions — though they say they would be willing to talk about other spending and tax issues later.
are stalemated in how to reopen the government, with Republicans demanding a compromise that would include a delay or dent in Obamacare, and Democrats insisting the government be reopened without any preconditions — though they say they would be willing to talk about other spending and tax issues later.
Democrats have accused Mr. Boehner of being a bad negotiator, saying he cannot control his own troops and can’t be trusted to deliver on a deal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this week that Mr. Boehner reneged on a deal they had to pass a stopgap spending bill without preconditions but at the spending level the House GOP insisted.
said this week that Mr. Boehner reneged on a deal they had to pass a stopgap spending bill without preconditions but at the spending level the House GOP insisted.Via: Washington Times
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Kentucky Marketplace: ‘WARNING: No Explicit or Implicit Expectation of Privacy’
The Kentucky Obamacare marketplace has no “expectation of privacy,” warning its prospective customers that their information can be monitored and shared with government bureaucrats.
When clicking “let’s get started” on the state-run health insurance marketplace “kynect,” the user is quickly prompted to a “WARNING NOTICE.”
“This is a government computer system and is the property of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” it states. “It is for authorized use only regardless of time of day, location or method of access. “
“Users (authorized or unauthorized) have no explicit or implicit expectation of privacy,” the disclaimer reads. “Any or all uses of this system and all files on the system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized state government and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.”
Such information includes Social Security numbers. When calling kynect to enroll in the marketplace a person is told to have their Social Security card, immigration status, pay stubs, alimony payments, student loan information, and current health insurance information at the ready.
The kynect disclaimer says users information can be shared at the will of state government agencies.
“By using this system,” the warning states, “the user consents to such at the discretion of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
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